Maggie May | Our Quirky Dog

We’ve written lots about our dogs, starting with Sally, Tino, Becca, Jack (of course) and our latest addition – with us almost two years now, Maggie May, or Maggie.

We adopted Maggie through a Labrador rescue and learned that not only was she a puppy mill mom, tossed out at eight years of age, but she was pretty much afraid of everything. We’ve worked long and hard over the last two years to get her to shed her fears and relax into being a dog. And I have to say she has done remarkably well. She has had her own share of mischief adventures – particularly around avocado season.

But Maggie is still pretty quirky. She has many odd behaviors that we can’t quite figure out.I’m sure they are remnants of some long ago rule she had to follow, or behavior she devised to protect herself, but they are funny. Maybe some of you have some guesses as to why she might do these things:

We have a gate at the top of our driveway. Whenever we go out for a walk and we return through the gate, Maggie will immediately sit down – right inside the gate. It doesn’t matter who she goes out with, whether the gate is fully open or not, as soon as she comes back in through the gate, she goes to the grass right next to it and sits down.

Every time we go out the front door, whether it’s to go for a walk, or for her meal or just to sit on the patio, she immediately goes to the grassy area outside the door and plops down and rolls around on her back.

Coughing freaks her out. She can be in the middle of eating her dinner and if you cough, she’ll stop what she is doing and slink away. Sneezing doesn’t bother her…just coughing.

She loves to dig and has two special digging places – one in the front yard and one in back. As soon as I open the door to the back deck, out she goes, down the steps and under the deck to her spot. She’ll dig a bit and then lay down. She enjoys her backyard more and more everyday and spends a lot of time out there on her own.

Whenever we are going for a ride in the car, she doesn’t walk to the door and jump in, she has to walk around the car and come at it from the backend before jumping in.

Introducing her to new foods is interesting. She sniffs everything she takes from you. If it is something she has had before, she will sniff it and then take it from your hand. If it’s something new, she’ll sniff and then touch it with her mouth and then put her head down so that you can put it on the floor and THEN she’ll take it, she won’t take it from your hand.

When we come home from being away, they are both usually at the door to greet us. Jack will just stand there watching and waiting, but she circles – always counter-clockwise – once around, then she’ll stop and look for us. If we’re not to the door yet, she’ll do another circle and continue until we get in the door. Poor Jack gets pushed out of the way each time she circles.

None of these behaviors bother me, or need to be “worked” on, they are just part of Maggie’s quirky personality and part of why we love her. I’m sure much of it has to do with her upbringing. We don’t really know much about her background other than she was a breeder mom with the tattoo’s to prove it. She also has scars from bite marks around her head, so I can’t imagine it was a very good environment. Each day she settles in more and more her – she has made great strides since she first arrived. And to be honest, I find her little quirks to be quite endearing.

I can offer a tip on quirk #1. Mom has taught Bailie to always sit when we come back from a walk so Mom can take off her leash. She does this in the yard inside the gate or in the house inside the door. Maybe Maggie had a similar rule in her previous life.Emma recently posted…Where can you buy a squeaky sport ball for your dog?

Katy spins like a whirling dervish when she hears the food bowls being prepared. She will knock Bailey out of her way in her wild circle spins. She’s even gotten Bailey to dance with her a few times.Bailey recently posted…Happy Birthday Katy!

On #1 I suppose it is possible she had some sort of obedience and was required to sit like that when entering a gate. I could make a list for all three of mine, well maybe not Thunder. He has a very even temperament. Storm has a lot of silly quirks and Freighter has a few of his own….lol.2 brown dawgs recently posted…It’s About Time

Maybe…but when she’s coming in doors – like into the house…she races in as fast as she can. But you know, now that I think about it, she races is but always goes to the same spot in the kitchen…and sits down. Hmmm…mkob recently posted…Maggie May | Our Quirky Dog

Oh. My. doG!! Ducky has so many quirky behaviors that I wouldn’t know where to start! But, like Maggie’s have become endearing to you two, Ducky’s have endeared her to us as well.

When we first adopted Ducky, she would bark at us if he we coughed or sneezed. But, as she realized she was here to stay, that quirkiness faded away. As for the sniffing of food in your hand, Shadow does it ALL the time. Like she wants to make sure you aren’t trying to “poison” her with medicine! LOL.Sue recently posted…Now That’s Much Better!

Aww sweet Maggie!
I love her quirks! I think a pets personal quirks are what make them unique from others.
Each of my pets have their own.
Lexus came from a backyard breeder where there was 65 other huskies seized, she has a few quirks that I can tell have been passed down from that life. One of which is that she has to do a MILLION circles before going to the bathroom. My best guess to that is that her cage (where she lived for the 4 months of her life) was so covered in her own feces that she didn’t have a clean spot to go potty, and she did circles….not sue how right I am, but it matters not.
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!Jenna,Mark “HuskyCrazed” Drady recently posted…Oh My Dog!

That’s probably a good guess. Maggie poops right outside the front door – also pretty odd, but probably the same reason as Lexus…never learned that idea of go far away from the den.mkob recently posted…Maggie May | Our Quirky Dog

Sweet Maggie. She must know that she hit the jackpot getting rescues by the two of you. It’s probably best that you don’t know more about her previous puppy mill life. I’m so happy that she is able to play, eat, and love like a pet should. ♥M. K. Clinton recently posted…Sunflower Fun

Oh my gosh, I could do a laundry list with Tig and Mort.
I love so much how you mention that none of them need to be “worked” on. Love it. I’m like that with Tig, our very shy dog. She was a panic case when we first adopted her, and we’ve gotten her to a place where we’re all comfortable. Sure, she’s still shy and won’t do more than look at & sniff a stranger, and perhaps accept a treat – and that’s cool. Many people would say we should continue with “socialization” but to me if it backfires – and it can, even when being careful and smart about it – then we’re all so much worse off 🙂

The coughing but not sneezing makes me smile. So funny how that can be the case.

As for one of our more mysterious ones, Tig sometimes prefers to walk on the curb part of the sidewalk (between the edge of the sidewalk, and the line in the concrete that divides the sidewalk panels from the curb part). She’ll actually pull to get at that curb section, to walk on that specific piece of the sidewalk. I can’t associate it with any location, time of day, there’s no people around, and she’s perfectly relaxed. Not sure why she likes to do it! Her version of being x-treme and agile I suppose. She also sometimes prefers to walk along painted lines on the street (same kind of thing). Guess it seems like a good dog-thing to do!
Side note: She is completely bored with agility.Jen recently posted…The Mort Report: Being shop dog and entertainer for a day

Interesting…maybe she’s doing her own version of agility…or her own version of “step on a crack, break your mothers back game…”
Yeah, Maggie perfectly content, she has her quirks, we know what they are and work with them…not going to upset that balance.mkob recently posted…Maggie May | Our Quirky Dog

Mine have two many to list, but one of Leo’s is really strange. He doesn’t like the sound of Aluminum Foil when it’s ripped off the roll. Don’t ask – he sees the foil box and removes himself from the kitchen area. He doesn’t run, he just moves away – go figure.Cathy recently posted…THE MONSTER IN THE BASEMENT | MONDAY MISCHIEF

No brilliance here. But I find it interesting that several of Maggie’s quirks have to do with entryways. Doorways are really significant for dogs in a way I don’t quite understand.

She’s a lucky girl to end up in such a loving home.

Honey has just started a new quirk. If I return upstairs while she’s not looking, she’ll go to the bottom of the stairs and bark until I ask her to come to me. It’s almost like she doesn’t want to go upstairs and miss seeing me if I’m somewhere else.

Too funny…saving the trip up the stairs…she’s no dummy. Yeah doorways are an issue for Maggie…and interestingly Jack – the big lunk head is very polite at doors and naturally waits for me to go out first. I don’t really care, but I’m glad he does it.mkob recently posted…Maggie May | Our Quirky Dog

Ahh, the quirks are what make us all a little more interesting and not all of them need to be worked on. Sometimes they are the best part of who we are and it so wonderful for Maggie that you get that. She is one lucky quirky dog 🙂Crazy Dog Life recently posted…7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Monetized Blog

I loved to learn about Maggies quirks, I wouldn’t mind them at all either and they show who she is. I bet the rolling on the grass is because she was in a pen all the time and didn’t get to enjoy grass. My dogs do have quirks too. One off hand I can think of is when you tell Glory to jump on the couch or bed she sits down and ponders it for a moment and then jumps up. And well you know we don’t have enough time to go through all of Gmans quirks.Sand Spring Chesapeakes recently posted…Monday Mischief~Chapstick Bandit/Counter Surfer

Oh, I love hearing about her quirks, even though some might be from her puppy mill life. I’m just happy she has you to love her and her quirks now, and it reminds me of Rita. She didn’t have it as bad as being a puppy mill mom, but she did have to get by on her own on the “mean streets” in Mexico, and she also has a bite scar on her head. Rita has a lot of lovable quirks too. She’s also suspicious about new foods, even foods she’s had before. She always sniffs everything thoroughly before accepting it! And if you give her something she REALLY likes, she runs off with it and lays down on the throw rug before she’ll eat it!Jackie Bouchard recently posted…I Don’t Wanna Walk! (And a Winner!)